Francois l'Olonnais

Francois l'Olonnais (1630-1669) was a French pirate and buccaneer who was active in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. l'Olonnais operated from Tortuga and Saint-Domingue, and he was known for his cruelty towards captured Spanish soldiers. After a failed raid on Honduras in 1667, his ship ran aground in Panama and he was eaten by natives.

Biography
Francois l'Olonnais was born in Les Sables-d'Olonne on the western coast of France in 1630, and he became an indentured servant in the Caribbean during the 1650s. By 1660, his service was complete, and he arrived in Saint-Domingue (Haiti), where he became a buccaneer. He preyed upon Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea, and he was shipwrecked near Campeche, Mexico in 1662. l'Olonnais and his pirates were attacked by Spanish soldiers, and l'Olonnais survived the massacre by covering himself with the blood of other dead pirates. l'Olonnais escaped with the help of some slaves, returning to the island of Tortuga. The Governor of Havana sent troops to kill l'Olonnais and his party after they took a Spanish town hostage, but l'Olonnais killed the entire Spanish force and sent their heads back to the governor, warning him that he would show no quarter to any Spanish soldier for the rest of his career. In 1666, l'Olonnais and a force of 8 ships and 440 pirates sacked Maracaibo in Venezuela, and he captured a Spanish treasure ship carrying cocoa beans, gemstones, and over 260,000 Pieces of Eight. He proceeded to outflank the fort of San Carlos de la Berra and take it in a few hours, and the pirates proceeded to pillage the city of Maracaibo. In 1667, he plundered the coast of Honduras, and he narrowly escaped with his life after being ambushed while en route to San Pedro. He captured two Spanish soldiers, eating the heart of one of them before forcing the other one to guide him to San Pedro. The pirate attack on the town itself also failed, and the retreating pirate ship ran aground at Darien, Panama. L'Olonnais was captured by the Native American Kuna people, who proceeded to eat him.